Trump opposes plan to use 401(k) savings for home down payments

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he opposes a plan endorsed by one of his top economic advisers that would allow Americans to use retirement savings from their 401(k) accounts to make down payments on homes.

“I’m not a huge fan. Other people like it,” Trump told reporters Thursday, Jan. 22, aboard Air Force as he returned to Washington from Davos, Switzerland, where he attended the World Economic Forum. “And one of the reasons I don’t like it is that their 401(k)s are doing so well.”

Trump’s comments marked an abrupt shift in White House policy after Kevitt Hassett, director of the National Economic Council in the White House, last week said the Trump administration was finalizing a plan for some 401(K) funds to go toward home down payments, as part of a series of new White House initiatives on housing.

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“We’re going to allow people to take money out of their 401(k)s and use that for down payment,” Hassett told Fox Business in a Jan. 16 interview, adding that Trump planned to lay out the plan in Davos. “We’re still talking about the mechanics of it,” he added.

Trump never mentioned the plan, however, in his speech before the World Economic Forum. He instead touted a Jan. 20 executive order banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes in a push to lower housing costs for Americans.

Trump has been rolling out several policy proposals and actions aimed at addressing affordability concerns as Americans continue to express cost-of-living concerns. But he seemed to rule out the 401(k) proposal for home down payments.

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“The housing market’s good, but the 401(k)s are doing much better than the housing market. I like keeping their 401(k)s in great shape,” he said. “You’ve got people telling me they’re up 88%. And over the period of a year, over a full year, it’s going to be close to 100%.”

Housing prices in 2025 rose by 1.7% from October 2024 to October 2025, according to the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency’s most recent monthly report in December. The median home price nationally rose to $433,000 in November 2025, according to the real estate company Redfin.

The United States faces a severe housing shortage and a stagnant housing market. Pending sales of homes dropped nearly 6% in December from the previous year.

Contributing: Reuters

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump ‘not a huge fan’ of plan to use 401(k) funds for home down payments